The Right Thing To Do
by BettyHall223
Summary: It's Sam's wedding day but it isn't going very well.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Stargate SG-1 and its characters are not my property. No copyright infringement is intended._

Sam held her wedding dress in her arms as she opened the car door and carefully laid the dress on the back seat.

Standing up straight, she took a deep breath and stared at the dress.

Closing the door carefully, she slowly walked up the sidewalk, glanced back at the car and went inside her house.

She had hardly slept at all last night, tossing and turning, having second thoughts about whether or not she really wanted to make this commitment to spend the rest of her life with Pete.

Going into the bathroom, she picked up her make-up kit and curling iron and put them in her overnight bag.

As she wandered into the living room, her cell phone rang.

"Hello."

"Hi, Sam."

"Hey, Cassie."

"Just wanted to see if you need me to do anything before I meet you at the church."

Sam took a deep breath and hesitated. "No, but thanks."

Cassie frowned. "You okay, Sam? You don't sound too good."

"I just . . . I have a lot on my mind right now."

"I guess so. You're getting married today."

Sam sat down on the sofa as she looked at the picture on her mantle of SG-1. "Yeah, I'm getting married today."

"Sam, if you don't want to go through with this wedding, there's still time to . . ."

Before Cassie could finish what she was saying, Sam cut her off. "I'll see you at the church. Bye."

Sam dropped her phone on the sofa, put her elbows on her knees and covered her face with her hands as she tried to breathe deeply. Looking once more at the picture, she stared at Jack and herself as she remembered when the picture was taken. The team had gotten together at Jack's house and Cassie had wanted to take their picture so they stood by the railing of his deck. Teal'c stood next to Daniel and she stood between Daniel and Jack. When Cassie had later given her a copy, she immediately noticed how close together she and Jack were standing. They were both smiling, looking relaxed and happy.

The picture had been taken just a few weeks before she met Pete.

Swallowing a rush of emotion, she quickly looked away from the picture and stood. Picking up her overnight bag, a suitcase and the dress she would wear when she and Pete left the church after the ceremony, she came outside and put everything in the trunk. Making one last trip inside, she grabbed her cell phone and put it in her purse, locked the front door and got into her car.

As she drove, she remembered the day that she and Jack had confessed their feelings for each other in front of Anise, Teal'c and Janet. Wishing she could change what she had said to Jack that day about keeping their feelings hidden away, tears filled her eyes.

She remembered when Pete had taken her dancing; the day he had given her an engagement ring as they sat on a bench at the park; the house he had bought for them and was so excited to show her.

Wiping away the tears, she recalled Jack wandering into her lab and showing him the ring. She had hoped that Jack would try to stop her, but he had not. The look of hurt she had seen in his eyes as he handed back the ring, had haunted her for days.

Quickly pulling over to the side of the road, she realized once again that the reason Jack had not stopped her from accepting the ring, was because he loved her enough to let her go; her happiness was more important to him than his own.

Laying her head on the steering wheel, she cried harder as memories of Jack ran through her mind: the day they had met in the briefing room; almost freezing to death together in Antarctica; missing him desperately when he had been stranded on Edora; the many times they had sat beside each other's bed when the other was injured and kissing Jack during her hallucination on the Prometheus.

So many memories of a man who, over the years, had slowly crept into her heart.

Sam lifted her head, wiped her eyes and mumbled "you're such an idiot, Samantha. How did you let it go this far with Pete?"

Putting the car into gear, she pulled back onto the road. Driving up in front of the church, she came to a slow stop.

Noticing the vehicle from the florist, she watched as a man and woman came out of the church, closed the back doors of the van, got inside and drove away. Apparently, they had just finished decorating the church for the wedding.

Feeling as if she were about to be sick, she suddenly stepped on the gas pedal and drove past the church.

After driving a few minutes, she drove into a parking space of a shopping center. Turning off the engine, she sat staring out the windshield for several minutes.

Looking at her watch, she knew that Pete had planned to arrive about now at the church to get dressed for the ceremony.

Sam slowly shook her head. "This isn't right. I can't go through with this."

Knowing what she had to do, she started the car, turned around and headed back.

Pulling into the church parking lot, she parked beside Pete's car.

With her heart beating fast, she went inside. Just as she came down the hall and turned the corner, she saw Pete and his brother go into one of the rooms.

Slowly putting one foot in front of the other, she breathed deeply and said to herself 'go on, you have to do this.'

Facing the door to the room that Pete was in, she raised her fist and hesitated a moment.

After knocking gently on the door, Pete answered. He started to smile but immediately noticed that she had been crying.

"Sam, what's wrong?"

She glanced over Pete's shoulder and noticed his brother staring at her.

"I need to talk to you in private."

Pete closed the door and put his hand on her elbow.

"Are you okay?"

Sam didn't answer as he followed her outside. She looked at the ground and crossed her arms over her chest.

Pete didn't take his eyes off her. "Sam, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

Sam knew this was the most difficult thing she had ever had to do in her life as she slowly raised her head and looked into Pete's eyes.

"I can't . . . I can't do this, Pete. I can't marry you."

The look on Pete's face was as though someone had just slapped him.

"But . . . I love you and you love me."

Sam shook her head. "No, I don't love you. I mean . . . I love you as a friend but I'm not _in_ love with you. I thought I was but I'm not. I'm sorry. I don't mean to hurt you but I can't go through with this wedding."

"We're supposed to be married in an hour and you spring this on me now?"

Tears filled Sam's eyes. "I don't know what else to say. I don't expect you to forgive me so I won't even ask you to, but I can't marry you."

Sam started to put her hand on Pete's arm but he stepped back from her and raised his hands.

"Don't. Just don't."

They stood in silence for several moments.

Pete looked into her eyes. "Is there someone else?"

Sam hesitated. "I'm not sure."

Pete frowned. "You're not sure? How can you not be sure, Sam? There is or there isn't."

"Yes but no."

Pete looked bewildered. "Yes but no? What does that mean?"

"There is someone I care about but no, we can't be together."

"But as long as there is the possibility that you could someday be together, you won't marry me. Is that it?"

"I should not have accepted your ring, Pete. I let things get way out of hand. This is all my fault and I don't want to hurt you any more than I already am."

Pete glanced away, took a deep breath and put his hands in his pockets as he turned to face her once more.

"Are you positively sure?"

Sam nodded her head. "Yes."

Pete stared at her. "Goodbye, Sam."

He turned to walk away as Sam placed her hands against her stomach. "I'm sorry, Pete. I'm so sorry."

Pete kept walking. He got to the door, turned to look at her one last time and she could see the devastation on his face. They stared at each until Pete went inside and closed the door.

Getting into her car, Sam drove away from the church as tears ran down her face.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jack looked into his bathroom mirror as he finished straightening his tie. Bracing his hands on the sides of the sink, he bent over slightly and dropped his head to his chest, releasing a long breath.

Slowly raising his head, he stared at his reflection for a moment and knew that attending Sam's wedding would be even worse than being in Ba'al's torture chamber.

He knew it would tear him up inside as he watched Sam marry Pete but he had promised her he would be at her wedding. In all the years he had known her, he had never broken a promise to Sam and he wouldn't start now since this was the most important day of her life, and although his heart was breaking he wanted her to be happy.

He was waiting until the last possible minute to leave his house, wanting to spend no more time at the church than he absolutely had to. As soon as the wedding was over and he had spoken briefly to the happy couple, he planned to drive to his cabin for a few days, wanting to get away from everyone and everything that reminded him of Sam.

Wandering into his bedroom, he started to pick up his jacket when his cell phone rang.

"O'Neill."

"Jack, it's Cassie."

"Hey, Cass, how ya doin'?"

"I was supposed to meet Sam at the church but when I got there I ran into Pete. He told me that Sam came by and called off the wedding."

Jack's eyes grew wide. "What?"

"He's really upset, Jack. Sam told him she can't marry him."

Jack sat down on the bed. "I don't understand. I thought she loved him."

"Jack, she's in love with you. I'm just glad she stopped this wedding before making the biggest mistake of her life."

"Oh, come on, Cass, why would you think I'm the reason she called it off?"

"What else would it be? If she really loved Pete, she'd marry him, but she doesn't. Pete said that Sam hinted that there is someone else but she didn't say who. It can't be anyone but you, Jack. She's crazy about you but because of the regulations, she has always kept quiet about her feelings."

"Cassie, we can't . . ."

"Jack, don't start with me about those stupid regulations. You love her and she loves you and you both need to face this instead of ignoring what is so obvious to everyone."

"Where is she now?"

"That's why I'm calling. I'm at her house. I came here thinking she would be here but she's not and she isn't answering her cell phone."

"She probably wants to be alone for awhile."

"Maybe so, but if she hasn't answered her phone or shown up in a few hours, we should try to find her. I'm worried about her."

"Just give her a little time."

"Why don't you try calling her, Jack? Maybe she'll talk to you."

"I'll see if I can reach her."

"I'll be at home. Let me know if you do."

"I promise. Now don't worry."

"I'll try. Bye."

He felt elated in one way, but bad for Sam, knowing that calling off her wedding was not something she would do lightly. He decided to give her some time to be by herself before he tried to get in touch with her.

**~oOo~**

Sam cried as she drove out of town. 'You can't keep doing this' she thought. 'You need to face your feelings and stop running from Jack.'

Sam drove for a long time, not really paying attention to where she was going. She eventually crossed the state line into Wyoming, heading toward Cheyenne. Driving around for awhile, she pulled into the parking lot of a hotel, feeling physically and emotionally drained.

Exiting the car, she grabbed her overnight bag and suitcase from the trunk and tried not to look at the wedding dress in the back seat as she walked past the window.

Entering the hotel, she went to the registration desk and a woman behind the counter smiled at her.

"Hello. May I help you?"

"I need a room please."

"Certainly. Is this just for yourself?"

"Yes."

The woman checked her computer. Confirming there was an available room, she asked for Sam's credit card. After entering the information, the woman gave back the card with a key card for the room, and as she did so, she stared at Sam.

"I don't mean to pry but are you okay? You look upset."

Sam tried to smile and nodded her head. "Just having a bad day."

The woman smiled in understanding. "I have those myself sometimes."

Finding the room, Sam went inside, set her luggage down on the floor and dropped her purse on the bed. She went into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were red and she looked exhausted.

As she stood in the shower, she began to cry again, thinking about the look on Pete's face when she told him the wedding was off.

After getting out of the shower and drying off, she dressed in her gown and robe.

Realizing she had been too nervous and upset all day to eat, she called room service and ordered a sandwich, soup and coffee.

After eating only half of the soup and sandwich, she was about to lie down when her phone rang. Cassie had left messages, asking her to please call her back, but she just didn't want to talk with her. Thinking it was probably Cassie again, she picked up her phone but saw that it was Jack.

She started to just let it ring, but realized that everyone would be worried about her if they couldn't reach her soon.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke softly. "Hello."

"Carter. You okay?"

Sam heard the concern in Jack's voice and the tears came again.

"No, sir." She paused as her voice broke. "I've made such a mess of things."

Jack could tell she was crying. "Cassie and I just want to be sure you're all right."

"I left Pete to deal with telling everyone the wedding is off, sir. I've been so foolish. I didn't mean to hurt him."

Sam started to sob and Jack waited a moment.

"I know you didn't mean to hurt him, Sam. Do you want to talk? Where are you?"

"I'm in Cheyenne, sir."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Okay. That's not too far. Tell me where you are exactly."

"It's starting to get dark, sir, and I don't want you to have to drive all the way up here and . . ."

"Carter" Jack snapped. "Tell me where you are, Sam" he gently repeated.

Sam gave him the name of the hotel and her room number. "I don't know exactly how I got here, sir. I just drove around awhile until I found this place."

"Doesn't matter, I'll find it. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Okay, sir."

"In the meantime, try to get some rest. Maybe you'll feel better."

"I'll try to, sir."

"Sam, you don't have to call me 'sir' when we're not on the base."

"Yes, sir."

Jack grinned. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Sam wiped her eyes with a tissue. "Okay. Bye."

Jack ended the call, punched in Cassie's number and she answered on the first ring.

"Did you find her?"

"Yes, she's in Cheyenne."

"Wow. She really wanted to get away from everybody."

"She's upset so I'm going to drive up there and make sure she's okay."

Cassie grinned. "That's great. Jack, please don't put this off any longer. You two need to talk."

"I'll see you later."

"Okay. Good luck."

"Bye, Cass."

Cassie thrust her fist into the air. "Yes! Yes! Yes! It's about time!"

**~oOo~**

After calling the hotel and getting directions, Jack quickly changed into jeans and a sweatshirt and put extra clothes and his shaving kit into a duffel bag to take with him.

Getting into his truck, he knew it would take about three hours or less to get to Cheyenne. Stopping at a gas station, he quickly filled the tank and was on his way.

Driving a little faster than the law allowed, he thought back over the past few months. Sam had not seemed particularly happy when she had gotten engaged. The few times he had seen Sam and Pete together, she seemed to be a little nervous and on edge around Pete instead of glad to be with him. He noticed that Pete was constantly putting his arm around Sam, holding her hand or touching her in some way, but Sam seemed to avoid touching Pete at all whenever he was in their presence and it seemed as if planning her wedding had not been a pleasant experience.

As the time had grown closer to the wedding, he just wanted the day to be over with. He had thought about going to his cabin and not attending the wedding at all, but Sam considered him a close friend and she wanted him there so he had told her he would be.

Now, he didn't know exactly what was going on with Sam. Was Cassie correct? Were Sam's feelings so strong for him that he had been the reason she had called off her wedding? Should he even be going to see her?

He had known for years how he felt about Sam and he had regretted, so many times, that they let their feelings stay locked away. Perhaps now it was finally time to open the door to that room so he and Sam could be honest with each other, and do something about those feelings they had admitted to.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was after dark as Jack drove slowly down the street, searching for the place where Sam was staying. Seeing the hotel sign, he pulled into a parking space.

Getting out of his truck, he went inside and got on the elevator, riding up several floors.

Sam's room was at the end of the hall. He stopped in front of the door and hesitated for a moment. Thinking she might be asleep, the thought occurred to him that maybe he should get a room and wait until tomorrow morning to speak with her, but she had been upset when he called so he wanted to see for himself if she was okay.

He knocked softly and several seconds later, the door opened and there stood Sam, barefoot and wearing a long, light blue silk robe. Her eyes were red and puffy as if she had been crying a long time and she looked tired and fragile. He wanted to take her in his arms and hug her to help her feel better, but he couldn't, at least not yet.

"Hey, Sam."

"Hello, sir."

He walked inside, Sam closed the door and turned to face him.

"I'm sorry I worried you and Cassie and I'm sorry you drove all this way, sir, and . . ."

Jack held up both hands. "Will you stop it already? If I really hadn't wanted to come, I wouldn't be here. I wanted to see for myself how you're doing."

Sam sat down on the side of the bed and stared at the floor as she clasped her hands together.

Jack sat in a chair across from her. "Want to tell me why you changed your mind about the wedding at the last minute?"

Sam glanced at Jack but looked back down at her hands. "On the way to the church, I finally admitted to myself that this whole situation hasn't felt right from the beginning. I couldn't marry Pete. I realized that I couldn't spend the rest of my life with someone I wasn't in love with."

Sam paused for a moment and Jacked waited for her to continue.

"I should not have gotten engaged to Pete in the first place. I should have ended it when he showed me the ring. We'd only known each other for a short time but I guess I wanted so much to have a normal life, to have someone _in_ my life that I got caught up in the moment and one thing led to another and before I knew it, I was in over my head. It all happened too quickly. Calling off the wedding was the right thing to do for me and Pete, although he probably won't see it that way for a long time."

"I understand you want a normal life, Sam, that there has to be something more besides your career to make you happy."

"The biggest reason . . ."

Sam suddenly stood up and took a few steps away but kept her back to Jack and he waited to see what she would say. She crossed her arms over her chest, finally turned to face him and looked into his eyes.

"The biggest reason I couldn't marry him is because of my feelings for you. They've only grown stronger since we were forced to admit them a few years ago."

Tears filled Sam's eyes so Jack quickly stood and wrapped his arms around her as she covered her face with her hands.

Jack gently ran his arms up and down her back to comfort her.

Sam slid her arms around his waist. "I thought I could never have you so I thought that maybe if I gave Pete a chance, it would work out, but I was wrong. I'm sorry I hurt Pete and I didn't mean to put you through all this."

"Look, Sam, I'm not going to deny that it hurt to know you were going to be someone else's wife but I want you to be happy."

Sam leaned back and looked into his eyes. "That's why you didn't stop me the day you came into my lab and I showed you the ring."

"That's right."

"Can you forgive me?"

"Yes."

"How you can forgive me so easily?"

Jack took her hands in his. "Because we all make wrong choices and sometimes, like now, you have the chance to make things right. I understand that you want to be married with two kids, the white picket fence and a dog and a cat. Pete offered you all that so you went into it thinking it would work out if you put some effort into it, but it didn't. I'm just glad you realized he isn't the man you want to spend the rest of your life with. The reason I can forgive you, Sam, is because I love you."

Sam tried not to cry. "I love you too. You've been so patient and understanding. I don't deserve your forgiveness or your love after everything that's happened."

Jack grinned. "Oh come now, Samantha. I'm older than you and I have creaky knees and I'm stubborn and grumpy and set in my ways. You sure you want to put up with all that?"

Sam nodded her head. "I've never been more certain of anything in my life. You may be all those things but you're also sexy and sweet and handsome and smart and funny and kind and generous and . . ."

Sam stopped and grinned mischievously. "Did I mention sexy?"

Jack chuckled. "You really have it bad."

Sam tilted her head and started to blush as she gazed into his warm brown eyes. "Yes I do. I've been in love with you for a very long time."

"You've had so many men after you through the years, I can't risk someone else coming along and snatching you away from me. I have to grab you now while I can. Life is too short to put this off any longer."

Sam sighed. "My heart has always belonged to you. I've been too much of a coward to tell you that I've never felt this way about any other man in my entire life. I don't want to lose you."

Jack hugged her to him again and he could feel her trembling. "You're not going to lose me, Sam. I promise."

He gently kissed Sam on her forehead before looking into her eyes.. "I think it's time we discuss what we've been denying for so long."

"Definitely, Jack."

Jack grinned. "See? You're getting the hang of calling me 'Jack' already."

Sam smiled and took a deep breath.

He cupped her face with his hands and gazed into her eyes. Slowly leaning over and wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her as she put her arms around his neck, and as he held her tighter, he realized how right it felt to hold Samantha Carter in his arms. After so many years of want, need, lust and love, one grumpy Colonel and one beautiful scientist were finally about to explore those feelings they had locked away so long ago.

The End


End file.
